Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-01-29
A DAKOTA ROMANCE.

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A DAKOTA ROMANCE.
The Story OF Mary shaw, a Granger OF
the Upper Jim River Valley.
Some time ago, writes a jamestown,
Dakota, correspondent Of The.New York
Sun, there arrived in this city q young
woman who gave her name as Mary
Shaw, who said she had come here for
the purpose of taking up some land.
She had several hundred dollars. and
though 1t was thought strange that she
would want to embark on the hard life
OF a Dakota farmer in the fall of the
year. 1t was admitted that she was a
woman Of pluck, and that, as she had
some means, she would probably sue
coed. As it happened, a man who had
taken mp land o few miles south of here
wanted to sell, and with him Mary Shaw
made q bargain, taking his farm and
house as il stood and moving into ii with
the determination OF living there all
winter. In the conrse of time some of the
men hcr0abonts who are matrlmonially
inclined began to notice Mays thrift and
industry, and, az she Was companionable,
u1O AA0VpA bsu@NOt AOk ouI4lxok6s = Cu6 WA6
not to Q ssaiig captured, however. Aa-
the SAME. such as mustered up courage
enough to pop the question were put off
With a joking answer, and all who under
took to find ont just who she was Jared
even more Enthusiastically. She had no
c~ontidents OF either sex, .and as winter
came on she kept things shipshape and
nm ~ ea0thvs ~ nc IN h.. n An- nv
IL has since been learned that Shaw is
not her name. She was . runaway wife
when she oeme here, and her home has
been out In Wyoming, whore her husband
was . well-to-do cattle grower. One
day In the early autumn she was rum
maging through his coat.poekets for
something, and discovered o letter there
from q woman whom she thought she
had reason to be jealous OF. Her hus-
band was then Oft on his ranch, and
would not be back for several weeks.
Hcr mind was made up in q minute.
Born md raised in the FAR west, she was
possessed OF All independent spirit and
q courage which many a man might
envy. The house in which she lived
Was in her own name, and finding q
purchaser she sold it as it stood, wrote q
letter to her husband that he would never
see her again, and left for parts unknown.
After q brief stay IN Lincoln, Neb., abe
went to Chicago, where she spent q
week or two. and from that city
she came directly here. She had read
OF q woman who had come into Dakota
and made successful efforts at farming,
and she had resolved to try the expert
ment, thinking that here she would ind
q livelihood as we'll as freedom from
search by her husband.
The mystery which seemed to sur.
round her only made the interest OF the
Jim river beaux the greater, and il che
had moi been q woman OF rare good
sense and tolerably diplomatic in her
way she might have been annoyed be-
yond measure by them. As it was she
took all the attention paid her in good
part, and the chivalry Of the valley voted
her the handsomest woman in the ter
ritory. Two weeks ago q tall and fine
appearing man arrived here and, with
ont stating his mission, began an inspec.
ton OF all the farms lying within ten
| miles OF town. He seems to lave found
what he was looking for at Mary Shaw's
house. for, after calling there obs day
ne returned to town and did not leave
his hotel again except as he j~ourneyed
once q day to her place IN the country.
1t has now leaked out that the stranger
is the woman's husband, and that he has
made az explanation OF the presence
and the contents of the letter which Is
nIghiy satisfactory to his wife.
The letter was written to him by the
woman j a question, ns 1t appeared to
nave been, but 1t wa8 never answered,
and there had been nothing in his con-
duot which warranted such famiiiarit '
on her part. 1t had been his intention
co show his wife the missive, bnt in she
hurry of preparing for his extended trip
over his ranch he had forgotten it
/ Feeling that his wife had done herself
and him an injustice, no had spered nc
pains in fracIng her out. At first be
found the search a most difficult one
but in Chicago he had got a clew sad
had followed it successfully. After the
reconciliation g became q question What
would be done with the farm here. The
/ young woman wanted to keep it, and he,
husband, finding that there was q mort.
gage or it, cleared that up and leased j,
before leaving for the west.
The last evening that the couple spen,
IN the little farm house 1T so happened
that two Of Mary Shaw's regular ad,
mirers called, just to see if there war
anything thata they could do for hel
They were received with the customary
grace, and, after q little we're introduced
to her husband, who greeted them cor,
daily land said he guessed he would haye
to take her home, where the work uas
easier. One of the callers, an old fellow,
vas SO overcome with amazement and
cha9rin that he became almost speech.
less, though be fipaIiy found words to
say that he congratulated the gentle.
man on having SO loving q wife. he
had supposed that she was single and il
she had been he was free to admit that
he would have stood on his head in q
blizzard Tor twenty-four hours il by thai